State Board Vs CBSE Vs IGCSE (Tamil or French) – What would you choose in Tamil Nadu?

I love the Oratory skills of our State’s Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. It is also commendable that he takes extra effort to prepare (I am sure he practices). It is great that he is able to recite without any references at public gatherings and I also remember one time where he took an extra effort to speak in Malayalam at a gathering. My Aunt (Mom’s Sister) and his Dad (Anbil Poyyamozhi) went to the same college (Presidency) and his dad used to frequent my grandfather’s house many times. (There is no way that the Minister will know this and it does not matter :-). Like a lot of you (from Tamil Nadu), I also follow his work as he runs the Education Ministry in the State of Tamil Nadu.

Nothing on this blog is new. This is something you may have already heard (or) people might have discussed this N number of times. However I just want to share some of my observations. Read it and take it for what it’s worth.  

Last week on Thursday (November 14, 2024) around 4:30 pm, I was switching channels in the evening, and watched a news clip on a news channel (Thanthi TV) about our State Education Minister’s son (who is in school) winning a prize in a Business competition. The prize distribution happened at Anna University (Guindy) where our Minister was the Chief Guest. It was nice to see a proud father handing over the prize to his son’s team and patting his son on the back. Congratulations.

A reporter from Thanthi TV interviewed our Education Minister’s son and here is the gist of the conversation. The reporter congratulated the student (Minister’s son) and asked him about his favorite subject. The student responded that Maths is his favorite (Awesome). The reporter then asked what is a subject he finds hard, The student responded ‘Language’. The reporter asked which Language  and the Student responded ‘French’. The reporter asked did you not take Tamil and the student responded No, I took French. The reporter asked which syllabus do you follow – and the student replied I think IGCSE (International General Certificate for Secondary Education). 

Observations based on the video:

1. The Minister’s family or his son decided to choose French as their second language in school. 
2. They also opted to choose the IGCSE syllabus instead of the State Board syllabus offered by the State of Tamil Nadu. 
3. The student may or may not be studying Tamil (I do not know). There is a Third Language system currently in place. 

(P:S This is based on the clips I saw on television and my observations may also be completely wrong)

Some other observations (Outside of the video):

A while back, I was chatting with a carpenter who did some work on our house and he had both his daughters studying at a private school. Carpenters do make a decent amount of money, but not a lot.

My barber’s kids go to a CBSE school in Chennai. 

The affluent families either choose ICSE(Indian Certificate of Secondary Education) or IGCSE or CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education

Growth in CBSE Schools

Let me give you some context. I studied in a school which was a Matriculation Board and our school did offer French as an optional 2nd Language. Meaning,  you could choose to study French as a second language instead of choosing Tamil. A good number of students did take that option. In the days I went to school, CBSE was not a big thing (though a decent number of students who wanted to crack into IIT’s did choose the option). Most of the students then chose the State Board Syllabus or Matriculation (some, as it was not offered in many schools) and both these options from the State offered better prospects for Higher Education (Bachelors Program). A while back Samacheer Kalvi, also known as the Tamil Nadu Uniform System of School Education) was introduced in TN schools. The intent may have been great, however poor execution and more caused quite a lot of students to switch to CBSE. This also led to the growth in CBSE schools in the State. 

Why would someone choose the State Board Syllabus over CBSE?

Recently, I have been wondering why would a student choose the State Board Syllabus over CBSE? There are some good reasons for this choice. The key is Colleges. If someone wants to study Engineering, the prospects of getting into a Government engineering college is much higher with a State Board Syllabus over CBSE. I was happy with this because people will end up choosing State Board education. However I have to tell you that this might also be slowly changing. I recently interacted with students studying at a Government College and it was surprising (for me) to find out that a good number of students who are able to afford have started to prefer Private institutions over Government Colleges.  So what happened or is happening in school education in Tamil Nadu is also happening to higher education. 

Tamil in Tamil Nadu:

Like a lot of people, I am of the belief that Education should be a State subject. In countries like the US, as you know, things are decided at the County level. CBSE by design does not focus too much on Tamil in the State of Tamil Nadu. This is the harsh reality and I hope this changes. For example, in State Board schools, you will have something called Tamil Mandram. However I am not sure how CBSE Schools offer such a thing (if any). You may say that if a student does not want to study Tamil, so be it. Fair point. I would argue that there are several reasons and advantages for being fluent in your mother tongue. Research shows that being well versed in your mother tongue also helps with mental wellness (Much needed these days). It also helps you stay grounded and stay close to your roots. The State Education Minister’s son deciding to choose French over Tamil as his second language is a classic example of how things work today amongst families and students who are able to afford. (Well, I also agree that you just can’t force your kids and they to do what they choose to.)

My request to our Education Minister:

As I mentioned , I love the Tamil proficiency of our Education Minister and his smartness with which he articulates in Tamil. I highly recommend that he spends time teaching Tamil to his kids based on the books provided by the State. This investment of time will yield great returns. He can also find out if his kid (I am sure his kid is very smart) is able to pick up reading and writing skills in Tamil fast enough. As he practices this, if he finds this exercise hard, he is not alone. A lot of parents go through this. 

Also, I would not take lightly that kids choose CBSE or another board like IGCSE or ICSE over the State Board. We have fundamental issues that need to be solved. Also if promoting Tamil as a language is of prime importance to the Government in the State (as articulated by our Chief Minister), we need to walk the talk. For reference, Lee Kuan Yew, who is credited to building Singapore ensured that his three children were educated in Chinese schools (unlike some leaders who advocated Chinese and put their children in English schools). He walked the talk.

Just ideas will not take us anywhere. The intentions may be great. However we need to put that into action and execute. 

Thanks for reading.

Karthik Chidambaram.